


Click Boom!

by BBCotaku



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fallout (Video Games) Setting, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Other, Vaultdweller!Evan, scavenger!Connor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25504165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBCotaku/pseuds/BBCotaku
Summary: Connor wasn’t deluded enough to think that travelling alone was the only way to survive in the wasteland. He’d seen his fair share of so-called lone rangers roll into town bragging about how ‘you couldn’t trust anyone these days’ only to end up being torn limb from limb by monsters or raiders.No, Connor didn’t travel alone out of some desperate need to survive. He travelled alone because he and people didn’t get along, to put it mildly.---An entry to the 2020 DEH Gift Exchange for tigerdog25 on tumblr!
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Click Boom!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! As the summary says this fic is a gift for Tigerdog25! I wanted to continue the story a little longer, but I ended up running out of time. Regardless, I hope you enjoy it!

Connor wasn’t deluded enough to think that travelling alone was the only way to survive in the wasteland.  He’d seen his fair share of so-called lone rangers roll into town bragging about how ‘you couldn’t trust anyone these days’ only to end up being torn limb from limb by monsters or raiders.

No, Connor didn’t travel alone out of some desperate need to survive.  He travelled alone because he and people didn’t get along, to put it mildly.

He’d heard people talking about him around Sanctuary Hills when they thought he wasn't listening.  They called him ‘paranoid’--as if they wouldn’t be more than willing to put a bullet in his head if push came to shove.  Fucking hypocrites.

Honestly, if he wasn’t so fortunate with finding scrap, they’d probably have kicked him out a long time ago.  And you know what? Connor was fine with that.

People didn't live long in the wasteland anyway.

“Hey, Murphy. Either buy something or quit brooding and get out of my store.”

Connor sighed and looked up from the store shelves to meet the gaze of Jared Kleinman. “Or what?”

“Or I’ll get your sister to kick you out. You’re scaring off my customers.”

Connor looked around the empty store, one brow quirked.  At one point, according to the battered neon sign above the doorway it had once been a liquor store--though any alcohol it had once housed was long gone.  Now it mostly stocked scrap, bullets and whatever other crap Kleinman could get his hands on.

“Hate to break it to you,” Connor said with a shrug, “but without me you wouldn’t have half the shit you sell.”

Jared rolled his eyes, leaning heavily on the counter.  “Yeah. But you’re fucking creepy. Hurry up.”

Connor stretched and rested one hand on his hip, the other on his holster.  He wasn’t actually going to shoot Kleinman, he wasn’t that much of an asshole, but Kleinman didn’t know that. He couldn’t help but smile as Jared tensed and revelled in the satisfaction for a moment before asking “you got any cigarettes?”

“Uh…” Jared’s tensed shoulders relaxed.  “Yeah.” He dropped down behind the counter and returned a second later with a carton of cigarettes in his hands.  “Had a traveller drop some off a couple of days ago.” He set the carton on the counter.

Connor fished a hand into his jacket pocket.  “Grey Tortoise,” he said, giving the cartons a nod.  “Guy had good taste.” He counted out 40 caps and set them down in front of Kleinman.

“You’re ten short.”

“Hm?”

“Ten caps. Fifty caps a carton now.”

Connor narrowed his eyes. “Since when?!”

“Since people started stripping the damn things down for parts.” Kleinman smiled smugly. “Fifty caps, take it or leave it.”

Fucking bastards.

Connor shrugged off his backpack and started searching through it for something worth selling. “I’ll trade you a stimpack for it.”

Kleinman laughed. “Oh...wait, you’re serious?”

Connor nodded and held out the syringe. “I have another spare.”

“You know these things give you cancer, right?”

“So does half the shit in this shop! And since when did you give a shit about my health?”

Kleinman shrugged and slid the carton over to him. “Never said I did, you just make me a lot of caps is all.”

Connor grumbled. Made sense, scavenging was basically the only thing he was any good at.

“Speaking of,” Kleinman added.  “You planning on heading out of town anytime soon? Supplies are starting to run a little low.”

Connor stuffed the cigarettes into his bag.  “Yeah. I’m planning on heading into The Orchard at some point in the next few days.”

Kleinman’s brows shot up his forehead. “You sure you don’t want to keep the stimpack?”

Connor huffed a humourless laugh. “You have that little faith in me?”

“No. I’m just not an idiot with a deathwish. People that go into The Orchard don’t come back.”

“Which means it’s stuffed full of resources.”

“Or stuffed full of death!”

Connor slung his backpack on. “Same thing.”

Kleinman shook his head in disbelief. “Can I have your stuff when you die?”

“Absolutely, fucking not.” Connor straightened up and turned to head out.  Behind him, Kleinman offered a mock-salute. “Good luck, you mad bastard.”

***

Two hundred years ago, the Autumn Smiles Orchard had been just that, an orchard.  But a couple hundred years of radiation exposure had transformed it into a monstrous shadow of its former self.  The trees, now half as thick as skyscrapers and at least twice as tall spilled out over the horizon and created a wall between Sanctuary Hills and whatever-the-hell lay dew east.

Over the years Connor had watched countless travellers disappear into the trees, never to return.  But those people hadn’t been locals, besides, it wasn’t as though anyone would give a shit if he did end up dead...well, maybe Zoe, but that was quite a big maybe.

Connor approached the metal gates engraved with the Orchard’s name.  He ran his finger along the lettering, his skin stained red with rust.

For a moment, Connor let himself imagine what this place could have been.  He imagined families having picnics, picking apples--the bright red ones he’d seen in old comic books.  He imagined the warm sunshine and clean air.

He shook the thought from his mind.  No use focusing on the past when there was still shit to be done.

He slipped off his backpack again and took out a stick of chalk and a Geiger counter.  The Geiger counter clicked in his hand.  Levels were a little above what was usual for Sanctuary Hills, but not high enough to cause any noticeable damage for at least another ten years or so.

Connor dropped the geiger counter into his pocket and drew in a deep breath.

“Too late to turn back now,” he murmured and stepped forward into The Orchard.

He did his best to stick to a relatively straight path, marking each tree with chalk as he passed.  At all times he stayed alert, searching for anything out of the ordinary--be it loot or whatever monsters called The Orchard home.

He continued onward for what felt like hours.  In the time he found nothing of interest, but just as he was about to call it a day and head back, he spotted something rising just beyond the horizon.

At first, Connor had assumed it was some kind of water tower, but as he drew closer he realized it was actually a wooden lookout.  Besides a ladder leading up to the platform Connor spied a sign which read “State Firewatch”, whatever the hell that was.

He tested the ladder and found the wood far too soft to climb.  Honestly, he was surprised the place was still standing after all these years.

Again, Connor reached into his backpack and took out a rope and grappling hook.  It took a few tries, but eventually he managed to find a good purchase.  He tested his weight on the rope before pulling himself up.  As he climbed Connor held his breath and waited for the platform to give out and send him hurtling to his death below.  However, while the wood creaked and groaned he managed to make it to the top relatively easily.

While he wasn’t above the Orchard canopy--nowhere close--he was high enough to get a better view of the lace.

It really did go on for miles.  Perhaps the danger wasn’t so much the threat of monsters that made this place so infamous, maybe the previous travellers just got lost?

Atop the platform was a little makeshift cabin, surrounded on all sides by blown out windows.  As Connor approached the door, he made sure to test each and every step.

He hadn’t come this far just to fall.

Inside the watchtower, the air reeked of rotten food and mould.  The stench was so strong, in fact, that Connor had to step outside multiple times to take a breath of fresh air as he searched.

All in all, he managed to scrape together a fairly decent haul.

It was clear that some poor soul had been living in the tower when the bombs had dropped.  Their skeleton was still curled up in the bed.

Connor left the bones where they were.

He found six cans of food, some bottles of 100% natural spring water, and, most stomach-churningly, a grenade hidden behind a pile of ruined books.

Connor looked down at the skeleton of the tower’s previous inhabitants with wide eyes.  “What the fuck?” he hissed. “Why the fuck would you need this? What the fuck was wrong with you?!”

Connor ripped out the pages of one of the books and wrapped the grenade in paper before carefully placing it in his pocket.

He wasn’t about to let the thing go off on him.

He moved even slower now as he stepped outside, ripping open one of the water bottles and chugging half of it in one go.

Cognitively, he knew it would be smarter to sell the water for caps, but fuck it, he had a 200 year old bomb in his pocket.  He deserved a drink.

The sun had just started its slow descent, which sent a pattern of auban shadows across the orchard floor.  The air was still and silent apart from the rhythmic clicking of the geiger counter.  It was about as peaceful as the wasteland could get.

Connor took a sip of water and looked out across the horizon, relishing in the silence.

And then he heard it. The stomach-churning scream that sent shivers down his spine.

The bottle slipped from between Connor’s fingers and fell to the ground below.  His eyes darted around wildly, searching for the source of the noise.  Whatever it was, it had sounded human, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was in the clear.  More often than not humans were just as deadly as the monsters.

First things first, Connor needed to get off the outpost.  Being this high up would just draw unwanted.

He pulled his sleeves down over his hands and slid down the rope as fast as he could.

Snap!

One moment he was climbing, the next he was weightless and falling.  He just had time to look up and see the rope, flapping freely in the air above him.

Connor hit the ground with a thud and gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs.

Again, a scream rippled through the air and Connor scrambled to his feet.  Nothing felt broken, which was fortunate.

He looked around for the chalk trail as the voice screamed again.  It was closer this time.

“Help! Please!” They sounded young, probably around Connor’s own age.  It made Connor pause.

Adults could usually handle themselves and if they couldn’t then, oh well, they’d lived a long-ish life.  But a kid? That was a different story altogether.

Connor hopped from foot to foot.  He hadn’t heard a gunshot yet, which meant they were probably unarmed.  There’d be no way they would survive if Connor left.

“Oh, fuck it!”

He pulled his gun out of his holster and set off in the direction of the scream.

He raced through the trees, praying he’d still be able to find his way back once this was all over--if he survived that is.

Connor’s heart hammered in his chest as he ran, his finger held lightly against the trigger.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

He’d been right; the person screaming was around his age.  He was blonde and broad and tall and had his arm trapped in the jaws of a yao guai.

“Shit!” Connor hissed under his breath.  That explained the missing travellers.  He raised his gun, aimed at the creature’s head and fired.

The Yao Guai cried out in pain and reeled back.  Connor took the opportunity to fire again.

Bang!

He missed the head this time, hitting the shoulder instead.  Connor’s revolver could only fire six shots and he highly doubted the Yao Guai would be considerate enough to let him reload.  Six shots weren’t going to be enough to take down this thing.

Connor’s hand reached for the grenade in his pocket.  “Get out the way!” he yelled to the boy who still lay prone on the ground. “Move, move move!”

The boy blinked dumbly before scrambling into action.  He moved stiffly and shakily, stumbling over his own two feet.

Connor swore and fired his gun again.  “Come on, asshole! Over here!” He started running, hoping to draw the creature away from the injured kid.  He just had to make sure neither of them blew up.  Not too hard, right?

Connor’s gaze flicked back and forth between the Yao Guai and the kid crawling across the Orchard floor. “Come on...come on…”

The Yao Guai had recovered from the shot to its head by now, it’s lips twisted into a growl.  With a roar it rushed forward towards Connor, no longer caring about is previous prey.

It was now or never.

Connor grit the pin between his teeth and pulled.

The grenade flew through the air and he turned, preying the explosive would meet its mark.

The world entered slow motion.

He couldn’t afford to fuck this up.  He didn’t give a shit if he died, but blowing up some unarmed random didn’t sit right with him.  People rightfully called him paranoid but he wasn’t a monster.

Time sped up again.

Blistering heat rippled up his back and Connor was flung forward by the force of the blast.  For a moment he lay there, his ears ringing before he slowly raised his head and rolled over to inspect the damage.

The Yao Guai had collapsed, its legs a mangled mess from the explosion.

Connor rubbed a sore spot on his temple and his fingers came away wet with blood.  He’d dealt with worse, and he was honestly lucky to have scraped past with just that.

He craned his neck and spied the boy once again prone on the ground.  Connor hadn’t noticed in the chaos, but the boy was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit.

A vault dweller.

Connor had heard rumours of them reaching the surface, but he’d never thought he’d actually meet one.  Let alone save their life.

“You dead?” Connor asked as he got gingerly to his feet.

A pained groan answered.

The kid’s arm was fucked. His sleeve stained red with blood where the Yao Guai had sunk its teeth in.

The sight alone was enough to make Connor gag.

He slipped off his backpack and pulled out his stimpack.  It alone wouldn’t be enough to completely heal the vault dweller’s wounds, but it would help at least.  He should have left the cigarettes with Kleinman.

He pressed the needle into the vault dweller’s skin making him hiss with pain.

“Give it a moment,” Connor muttered, relaxing a little as the bleeding came to a slow stop.

The vault dweller raised his head, wide eyes meeting Connor’s.  “Who...what...who are you?” he stuttered.

“A scavenger,” Connor said, slipping his bag back on.  “Don’t move it too much, I think it’s broken. Can you walk?”

The vault dweller pointed to Connor’s head. “You’re bleeding.”

“I can deal with it.” He gestured to the yao guai with his thumb.  “There’ll be more of these things around, we need to move. Now.”

The vault dweller nodded and scrambled to his feet.

Connor scanned the sky for the watchtower.  “This way,” he said, setting off the moment he spotted it. “Try and keep up.”

“Evan.”

“What?”

“My name…” The vault dweller trailed after Connor, trying to match his pace. “Evan Hansen.”

“You’re from a vault?”

“Yeah.”

“How long you been on the surface?”

“Um…” Evan thought for a moment. “Since this morning?”

Connor stopped dead in his tracks.  “This morning?” he echoed.

“Maybe...a few hours?” Evan looked down.  “I...I didn’t...I was walking and that thing attacked me and…” His shoulders hunched. “Thank you...for saving me.”

Connor’s shoulders slumped and he wiped the blood from his eyes.  “Evan...Hansen, right? Welcome to the Commonwealth.”


End file.
